Fireworks and the Night
by Soar318
Summary: It's actually snowing in Pupupuland, and Fumu is getting suspicious. After all, when it's snowing, it's always a sign of something bad...or is it?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kirby or any respective characters. They belong to – well, you know who they belong to.

_**Fireworks and the Night**_

By Soar318

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Duh. If I'm not, then why are we here in the first place?" the figure replied as he smashed the flat of his silver blade against the wooden post, driving it deeper into the hard rock. "We'll just let it stay here until, like, after New Year's, then kill it. No biggie."

"That seems rather…cruel."

"All demon beasts are either mindless, have no moral, or are cruel." He held up a hand before the second figure could protest. "Yeah, I know there are exceptions, but I'm talking about the majority of them. After all, the ones that aren't in service that weren't killed by something or someone certainly didn't die from old age."

A sigh. "I know. But still." He carefully shifted his weight on the chain that he was standing on, preventing a small, dark turquoise dinosaur-like animal with tiny, blunt spines and a yellow belly from running away. "Do you think the chain is going to hold until New Year's? After all, Ice Dragons tend to grow big very, very quickly. And who knows if someone is going to find it and kills it?"

"I never knew you could be such a worrywart, brother," the first one rolled his blood-red eyes mockingly, before giving the post one final smash, driving it all the way into the rock, before shoving a huge boulder on top of it. "There. That outta hold this dragon for a few months, if we need it too. New Year's is a piece of cake. And for your information, bro, the chain is made of the strongest and most dense metal you could ever find in the Mirror World, and this freaking pebble here is composed of the same material. And you know how in my world, all the metals and rock are like, twice the strength, twice the density, etc., etc."

"I knew that from trying to shove off the boulders you dump on me. Now give the thing the talk, and let's go. I think the indentations in my feet are going to last there forever. And I think Meta Knight's getting suspicious from the lack of two more consciousnesses in his head."

"Okay, okay. Just give me one more sec." he turned to the small Ice Dragon and started growling at it. When the little dragon didn't respond, he began using soft, threatening snarls, before finally holding up his dented and blunt blade, and quietly hissed something at the Ice Dragon. The dragon's eyes widened, and it quickly responded using high pitched yips and growls. Nodding, the figure turned to the person he had referred to as "brother", who was leaning against the wall. "Got it."

Underneath his ivory mask, the second figure grinned. "Good. Now let's hurry."

And the two simply faded away, like ghosts turning invisible, leaving a bewildered and frightened Ice Dragon behind. The thing shook its tiny head, before doing what it was meant to do: opening its mouth and letting the icy cold air gush out of its mouth and into the sky that was just visible in the crack far, far above its head.

_**To be continued…..**_

**Author's Notes: **WEEEEEE! New Year's Kirby special, much to the disappointment to one of my friends and the excitement of another! WEEEEEE! And a lot more work for me to do! WEEEEEEEEEEE!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Kirby and all respective characters blah blah blah….

Onyx: Well, _somebody_'s getting lazy here…

…

It was the Christmas afternoon, also known as the 25 of December. Bun, Kirby, and their friends Iroo and Hohhe were playing with Bun's new soccer ball. Fumu was sitting against a nearby tree reading a thick book about marine life that she had received from Meta Knight.

"Oi! _Nee-chan_! Take a look!"

"Hmmm?" Fumu looked up from her book just in time to feel a sudden sting of coldness on her face. Blinking, she shook her head before raising her head even higher, and gasped.

Thick, dark gray clouds were rolling across the horizon, and with them, came a chilly wind that swept past, raising goose bumps on their arms. Very quickly after, small, white flecks drifted down from the sky.

"Snow?" Fumu cried, before quickly tucking her book under her arm, and raced over to Kirby, who was staring up at the dark clouds and the snowflakes drifting down. Grabbing his paw, she turned to Bun. "C'mon! It's getting cold!"

Bun frowned slightly, before waving good-bye to Hohhe and Iroo, then ran after his sister. "Hey! Wait up!"

…

"What was with the hurry?" Bun asked, as they walked through the corridors of the castle, heading towards their family's apartment. "What's snow gonna do to you?"

Fumu heaved an impatient sigh. "First of all, snow in a southern country isn't normal. Second of all, every time that snow has fallen before, something bad happened, remember? The first time it was a demon beast, the second time it was the pengis."

Her brother frowned. "That's true. But we can just have Kirby take care of it. Right, Kaabii?"

"Poya!" the little puff next to him chirped happily.

"I know, but I don't want to take any chances- Oh! Hello, Meta Naito Kyou!" Fumu cut herself off at the sight of the masked puffball, who was standing on a balcony, watching the snow fall with grassy green eyes.

"Fumu, Bun," he turned, then greeted them with a nod. "Kirby."

"Meta Knight, do _you_ know why snow's falling again?" Fumu wasted no time in asking him, to which the puffball only shrugged.

"I have a hunch."

"Do you think Dedede is behind this?"

Lately, the king has been more quiet than usual. It wouldn't have been a surprise for Fumu if he has been plotting some scheme.

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"To repeat myself, it's not healthy to always accuse His Majesty whenever something happens." Meta Knight replied easily.

"That doesn't answer my question," Fumu huffed.

The knight chuckled. "Perhaps it doesn't. But I believe that you have nothing to worry about." He returned to watching the snowflakes, or, more accurately, searching for something.

Kirby followed his gaze and could have sworn he saw a two pairs of glowing eyes watching from the hills around the town. Two pairs of glowing eyes. One blood-red, one celestial amber.

….

"_Nee-chan_, seriously! If Meta Knight says that there's nothing to worry about, there's nothing to worry about!" Bun protested after listening to the thirtieth round of his sister complaining about how Meta Knight's getting old and how he doesn't care about the town anymore and how Dedede's fat and that he never pays attention to her…..

Wait…..

"But still! Something's got to be up! Can you think of a time when there was a change in the weather and a something-or-other did not come to make trouble?" Fumu persisted. Next to her, Kirby abruptly fell over from the sheer amount of repetition.

"See? Even Kirby thinks so," Bun grumbled as he dragged the puff back upright. "I'm telling you, there's nothing to be worrying about!" With that, he starts sprinting towards the nearest exit of the castle.

"Oi! Where are you going?"

"Outside, duh!"

Fumu heaved an annoyed sigh. "Boys. Always too lazy to help. You'll help me, right, Kirby?" No answer. "Kirby?"

She spun around in a circle. "Where'd he go?"

He was gone.

_**To be continued…**_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother…

Onyx: 'Bout time, missy.

…..

"Are you _sure_ that it's a good idea?" a figure with a dark gray cloak over his glowing white-gold cape hissed to his companion as they watched Fumu flip through more and more heavy stacks of books. "She's probably been through more than half of the library already…"

"'Course it's a good idea," the other one whispered back, rolling his blood-red eyes at the first figure. "There's, like, _at least_ twenty different species of demon beasts that can cause weather changes in general, and way more that are even just slightly inclined for a colder change. There's no way she can figure out which one it is."

"Are you _absolutely_ sure?"

"If I weren't, why in the name of Nightmare would I have gone to the trouble of a) finding an Ice Dragon, b) finding a secure place where it won't be found, c) convinced you to help me, and d) came up with the stupid plan in the first place?"

"Uh, maybe you felt, er, remorse for what happened on Halloween?" the covered one suggested hesitantly.

Rolling his eyes again, the second figure fixed his rather incredulous gaze onto his companion. "I'm a freaking demon beast. Do you think I have remorse?" he hissed.

The other one heaved a quiet sigh. "Alright, alright. I was just merely sugg-"

A hand slapped across his mouth, or rather, where his mouth is underneath his white mask. Nevertheless, it effectively cut off his words. "Be quiet! I hear someone!"

The two retreated further into the shadows of the bookshelves as a round, blue knight strolled into view, his cape wrapped tightly around himself. He approached Fumu and lightly tapped her shoulder. The girl yelped, and fell out of her seat, before whipping her head around to stare in startled amazement at the puffball who was watching her with a slight tinge of orange and pink in his normally golden eyes.

"Meta Naito Kyou! You scared me!" Fumu exclaimed, getting up and rubbing her eyes. Meta Knight noted, with some concern, that her normally bright green eyes were now bloodshot and dull, not to mention the large, dark bags underneath her eyes, and the air of exhaustion surrounding her.

"Fumu, it is three thirty in the morning. You should not be in the library doing research of all things," he chided gently. "It is not good for your health."

"I know, but I want to find out what's going on out there!" she burst out. "You keep on insisting that everything's alright, when it isn't! After all, it's not natural for Dreamland to have snow, whether it's winter or not! You were definitely worried the last few times that Dreamland had a drastic weather change, so why aren't you now?"

The knight fixed her with a stern glare. "Fumu, for the last time, I believe there is nothing to worry about. If I did, then I would have alerted both you and Kirby about it. But there is nothing out there that would harm us. For now." He added on reluctantly. "But I swear on both mine and Kirby's status as Star Warrior, if there is something dangerous out there, then you would be the first to know what I have found."

Fumu gazed at him with a suspicious and bleary look. "You promise? You swear?"

"Yes. But there is something I must ask of you."

"What is it?"

"I want you to promise that you will not go hunting around in the wilderness, looking for whatever may be changing the weather. It's dangerous out there, especially on your own, and, NOVA forbid, something may happen to you out there, and nobody is there to help."

"…"

"Well?"

"Alright."

"You promise? You swear?" the knight echoed the girl, using the exact same words she herself used.

"Yes, I promise," she gave him a tired smile. "So we're both clear?"

Meta Knight simply nodded, not wasting any words.

"…There's something else I want to ask you."

The puffball heaved a somewhat annoyed sigh. "What is it?"

"Did you see were Kirby went after Bun ran off yesterday? Because I could have sworn he was still next to me."

"He…went with your brother," Meta Knight replied after a slight pause. Fumu folded her arms and gazed suspiciously at him. "Are you lying to me?"

"No."

The knight watched nervously as the girl scrutinized him. '_Please accept it, please accept it, please accept it…_'

Fumu dropped her arms and smiled wearily. "Alright then. Thanks, Meta Knight. I guess I'll go to sleep then…" Yawning, she trudged out of the castle library.

Meta Knight watched her go, then heaved a huge sigh of relief. Covering for the little pink puff by lying to Fumu wasn't something he had yearned to do. And it was getting harder and harder.

'_Kirby had better watch his step, or else he's going to get caught one day,_' he mused. '_And Fumu shouldn't stick her nose into other people's business_.'

"Honestly." He muttered out loud as he began to put back all the books the girl had left out. "Sometimes she's too stubborn for her own good…" he slid the first few back into their rightful places. "Don't you think so?" he added to what appeared to be nobody at all.

The two still hiding didn't answer, but simply crept away silently. The knight rolled his eyes. "Really, don't those two know that their eyes also glow?" he murmured grumpily to himself. "They're lucky that Fumu was too tired to notice…At least _he_ has the sense to cover his cape…"

…..

Out in the corridors, the covered one let his cloak drop, revealing his glowing white-gold cape. No harm in giving someone a little scare, should anyone venture around the castle at this hour.

"I don't trust that girl's word," his darker companion muttered, wrapping his own tattered cape around himself, much like what the blue knight still in the study would do. "I think she's lying."

"She is very independent, and far too stubborn," the white one agreed quietly, glancing down the corridor. "But her reluctance to give up is rather admirable."

The other one huffed, before walking toward the nearest balcony. "Still, her stubbornness is going to cause trouble to us. We'd better keep an eye on her."

"Very well."

The two hopped onto the railing of the balcony. "Ladies first," the darker one bent in a mock bow, smirking amusedly under his mask. His companion's celestial amber eyes dimmed to an insulted orange-red, before he smacked the other so hard he fell off the balcony with a startled yelp. However, much to the white one's annoyance, he spiraled back up almost lazily on his tattered bat wings.

"Is that all you can do?" he smirked, amused. "Maybe I should refer to you as my sister, instead…"

Letting loose a snarl, his companion leaped at him, brilliant white bat wings, claws included, fully extended. Laughing, the two chased each other through the heavy, gray clouds and the soft white snow still drifting down.

That night, for anyone looking out their windows, it looked like there was one extra star, lower than the clouds, chasing a tiny patch of darkness in the cloud-filled sky.

Meanwhile, two knaves cowered underneath their pink blankets.

_**To be continued…**_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:…

Jade: Any italicized words that Kirby says are the translation for all the poyos!

Kirby: Poya!

…..

Bun grinned as his sister wandered up the hill, looking rather groggy. "Hey, _nee-chan_!"

"Hello, Bun," she smiled rather wearily, due to her just waking up. "What are you doing here?"

Her brother simply grinned as he pointed to the next hill over. Looking in the direction of his finger, she frowned as she beheld Kirby standing there. The small pink puff was staring across the hills and into Whispy Wood's forest, seemingly lost in thought. He didn't appear to be affected by the eight inches of snow that covered his bright red feet, nor the bitter cold that had both Fumu and Bun wrapped tightly in scarves, mittens, and wool hats.

"What's he doing? Doesn't he know that he'll freeze to death if he doesn't wear something warm?" Fumu hissed. Bun shrugged carelessly.

"He never seemed affected before," was his offhanded reply, the last one before neither of them spoke for a while, and just watched Kirby.

After about fifteen minutes of staring at the puffball, Fumu got bored, and was about to trudge over and give Kirby her scarf when Meta Knight walked up the hill to his student. The two siblings began to watch again with renewed interest.

…..

Kirby turned his attention away from the forest to give a quiet greeting to the knight standing next to him.

"Kirby," Meta Knight greeted softly back. "What are you doing?"

"…_looking for something_."

"What?"

The smaller puffball didn't reply, just scanned his eyes across the tops of the nearest trees.

"You're looking for them."

It was a statement, not a question. Kirby nodded, not taking his eyes off the trees.

"You do know that you have very little chance of finding them if they don't want to be found, don't you?"

The younger one sighed unhappily. "_I know, Meta. It's just that…I thought I saw something last night that I'm __**sure**__ was them. And you know what happened during Halloween. I want to make sure they don't do anything stupid again._"

"Do you think making it snow is stupid?"

Kirby gave him a sharp look. "_What do you mean_?"

Meta Knight returned the pink one's stare steadily. "I mean what I mean."

The result was a tiny frown, before Kirby turned his attention back to the trees. Meta Knight gazed at his student a little while more, before lightly tapping him on the head. The small puff jumped, startled, and gazed at the knight indignantly. Meta Knight chuckled softly, and handed Kirby a soft, light blue scarf with a small star embroidered on the edges.

"Tanks, Kni-kni!" the puffball exclaimed happily (And rather clumsily), expressing his gratitude by not speaking in poyos, before wounding it around himself so that the scarf hung down very low in front, and didn't cover his face. Meta Knight chuckled again at the nickname, and allowed Kirby to give him a quick hug. Grinning, the pink puff cheerfully scampered off, the search forgotten, and only thinking about visiting Whispy Wood's to see if he can get a couple of apples.

…

"What was that all about?" Bun grumbled as he and Fumu walked back down their hill. Obviously, the two could not understand Kirby's poyos, and the little they heard from Meta Knight only confused them.

"…I don't know," Fumu murmured quietly, reaching up to adjust her scarf after a rather cold breeze brushed by, before finding her fingers brushing only air. She glanced down, startled. "Where'd my scarf go?"

"Your scarf?"

"Yeah. I just had it with me!" A thought popped into her head. "Hey, wait a moment. That scarf Meta Knight gave Kirby…that was mine!" she exclaimed.

A light chuckle sounded from above the two siblings' heads, causing them to look up the next hill to see Meta Knight watching them with bright, bubblegum pink eyes. Fumu placed her hands on her hips and glared at him indignantly. "Why'd you give my scarf to Kirby?"

"I did not intend to," the knight replied, shrugging amusedly. "It somehow appeared in my cape without my knowledge or consent."

"Yeah right. I would bet anything that you can do some, let's say, rather dishonorable things," Fumu huffed as she slogged her way up the snowy hill, followed by her brother.

"Perhaps, but I assure you, that was not what I intended," Meta Knight said, holding out a hand to help her climb the rest of the hill. "I had no knowledge that your scarf was in my cape."

"Since I was going to give my scarf to Kirby anyway, I guess I'll let it go this time," the girl sighed.

"Look! It's gonna snow again!" Bun pointed upwards excitedly. Meta Knight and Fumu both tipped their heads back to watch the heavy clouds start to roll in from near Dynablade's nest.

"We'd better get back to the castle," the puffball knight murmured quietly. Fumu nodded. "I know, but what about Kirby?"

"He can take care of himself." Both siblings frowned at the dismissive tone in his voice, but didn't argue.

"Come."

Bun immediately started following Meta Knight back to the castle, but Fumu hesitated.

"Fumu? Do you want to be caught in the snow?" the knight tossed over his shoulder as he continued to walk briskly towards Dedede's stronghold.

"…I just want to go get something," Fumu replied.

"What?"

"Er…something for Kirby, when he gets back," she lied quickly, and set off at a sprint towards the little dome house, leaving no room for arguing.

"…"

"Um, Meta Naito Kyou?" Bun nervously tried to get his attention, since they had stopped, and the knight was staring at Fumu's path.

"Go on ahead. I have to make sure your sister gets back quickly." With that, Meta Knight took off, following the girl's path.

_**To be continued…**_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Kirby. End of story.

Jade: Italicized words are translations for any poyos.

…..

Breathing heavily, Fumu raced into Kirby's little dome house and shut the door, leaning on it. Slogging through the eight inches and growing snow was hard enough, but, apparently, the icy cold winds that blasted into her face and blinded her with the thick snow it carried didn't think so.

She had escaped into the little cottage to fool anyone - well, someone - watching into thinking that she really did want to get something for Kirby when he came back, nothing more. Instead of, say, running off to the rocky ridges near DynaBlade's nest in the middle of a blizzard. Which was exactly what she was going to do.

Happy that Tikkori wasn't around, Fumu dug into the small cupboard Bun had given Kirby, looking for an extra scarf. The cupboard currently held nothing except some random bits of accessories - scarves, mittens, hats, etc. – a couple of swords and spears, both wooden and metal, an easel complete with a palette and paintbrush, an extra blanket, and a few stale apples. Gingerly pushing aside a wide, blue blade with a green star on the hilt, she found the few scarves hanging neatly on a couple of hooks. Snatching one at random, she wound it around her neck, before unfolding the extra blanket and wrapping it tightly around herself.

Finished with her preparations, Fumu eased the small wooden door open a crack, then nearly crashed into Kirby's bed as the force of the heavy winds ripped the door out of her hands brutally. It smashed against the wall, cracking in the process, making Fumu cringe.

'_Mental note: get Kirby a new door_.'

Clutching the blanket tightly, the girl pushed against the gales, slowly making her way outside, and remembering to shut the cracked door in the process. Fumu then proceeded to began the slow trudge to the stone cliffs and ridges that surrounded Dynablade's nest.

…

'_That fool! What does she think she's doing?_' Meta Knight raged silently inside his mind as he watched Fumu began walking away from the warm safety of the little dome house. '_The idiot! Walking alone in a blizzard, wearing nothing warmer than some mittens and a blanket! Doesn't she know that she'll freeze to death out here? I thought she had read more books than that!'_

Said blizzard had already brought in enough snow to prevent anyone from seeing anything more than a few inches ahead, much less someone wrapped in a dark cape hiding in a tree. The only thing preventing Meta Knight from seeing Fumu was the special visor that he had in his mask, made especially to cover the V-shaped opening to both prevent any snow or sand from blowing into his eyes, and to allow him to see through blizzards and sandstorms.

Watching the girl trudging in the thick snow and bracing herself against the strong gales, just to find out the answer to a question she had, made Meta Knight want to both applaud her and scold her for her stubbornness and rashness.

'_Then again, I wasn't any better when I was younger_,' the knight mused quietly. Sighing, he hopped down from the tree and began to follow her.

….

Bracing his light body against the strong gales that threatened to blow him not only over Whispy Wood's forest, but also over all the small hills dotting the seaside and into the sea itself, Kirby mentally cursed himself for not noticing the drop in temperature that had happened about what seemed like forever before, but was only around two and a half hours earlier. If he had, he would have been safely inside his warm little house that now seemed like an impossible goal. It was best if he took refuge in the forest…

…that had no food available.

Kirby sighed unhappily, then choked on the snow that immediately blew into his mouth. Sputtering, the pink puff slowly pushed his way through the heavy gales and thick snow. It was bad enough he had gotten lost in the forest for two hours due to the snow that had somehow managed to slip through the thick leaves, he also had to find Whispy Woods in a state of hibernation, along with pretty much everything else in the entire stupid forest, both plants and animals. He had checked. Twice. And hibernation meant no apples. Or any food at all.

Right now Kirby felt absolutely miserable, and yearned for someone to be with him, so he wouldn't be so lonely in this whiteout. The half hour that he was walking through the blizzard had started to feel like he was forever stuck in a world full of nothing but freezing cold winds, thick, icy snow, and no color other than white.

The small puff suddenly felt the urge to just sit down and cry, to just give up. It was hopeless. How could he find his way back to his home in this complete world of whiteness, where there was no north or south, east or west? Tears actually had already blurred his vision when an image of Meta Knight glaring at him and sternly telling him that a warrior does not cry stopped the drops from spilling out of his eyes. But the image quickly turned painful as Kirby began to think about what a failure he must be, compared to the strong, invincible knight. He didn't feel like a hero at all. He felt weak and pathetic. After all, what kind of hero was he, not even able to find his way back home?

A single tear finally found its way out of Kirby's ocean-blue eyes. One tear quickly became two, then four, and eventually, the small puff was sprawled in the cold snow, his already purple body slowly turning into a dark blue, while he sobbed frozen tears into the ice crystals that threatened to completely envelope him. But he didn't care anymore. He was a failure.

…

Kirby had no idea how long he was crying in the snow, but he eventually became aware of a warm arm gently holding him against someone, something soft and leathery pressing against him, blocking the freezing winds, and of a familiar and comforting presence.

Blinking open his frozen eyelids, the – still rather purple – puffball stared up at his savior and was both overjoyed and horrified to see Meta Knight. Overjoyed that Meta Knight had actually come for him, and horrified that the knight had seen him in such a pathetic state. He suddenly felt the sting of tears rise up in his eyes again, and buried his face into the older puffball's side, seeking both comfort and solitude.

….

'_Walking through the blizzard with my bat wings out wasn't such a bad idea after all_,' Meta Knight mused idly, as he continued following Fumu, who had made surprisingly far progress. Sighing, he carefully shifted Kirby into a more comfortable position in the crook of his arm.

'_You stupid little puffball_,' the knight shook his head, silently reprimanding the pink puffball. '_What were you thinking_?'

He could still remember vividly the shock and horror he had felt when he had seen Kirby lying in the snow, almost completely frozen and pretty much half dead. It had nearly given him a heart attack seeing the usually boisterous, bright little puffball lying so still in the frozen crystals. The knight would have killed himself if Kirby had died just because he wasn't there to help and protect him, but a quick search of his pulse ensured that he was still alive, if barely. The relief was tremendous.

A sudden feel of something liquid running down his side made him turn his head, and the older puffball was shocked to see Kirby crying silently into his side. After a brief hesitation, Meta Knight shifted his mask so that one of his eyes and his mouth was showing, before gently hugging the miserable puff with both of his arms. Has it only been a few hours ago when Kirby was the one hugging him…?

"_You-you're n-n-not m-mad at m-me_?" the quiet question that was sobbed out of the small puffball's mouth completely bowled the knight over. He pulled away from him and held Kirby up aloft. Mad at him? Where did he get such an idea?

"Why would I be mad at you, Kirby?" Meta Knight asked gently, purple and a concerned gray swirling in his eyes.

"…_Because I've been such a failure_," the pink puff replied miserably. It hurt so much admitting it to the knight. "_I couldn't even find my way back home…_"

Meta Knight sighed softly, then shook his head, the purple and gray disappearing, leaving only a faint tint of pink. Even though the puffball sometimes acted much older than his age, he was still only a child. He gave Kirby a rather weary smile.

"Kirby, not being able to find your way anywhere in a whiteout is perfectly natural. Much more experienced warriors than you have died because of one. I myself once nearly died in one," he explained softly.

The younger puffball's eyes widened, his head cocked to the side. "_So…you aren't mad at me?_"

The knight shook his head, chuckling. "No, Kirby. I am not mad at you."

'_How can anybody be mad at this little puffball, I will never know_,' Meta Knight mused quietly as Kirby wriggled out of his grip and buried himself into the knight's side, snuggling adorably against him. Smiling softly, he rubbed the content puff's head, before continuing to follow Fumu.

_**To be continued… **_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kirby. Nor do I own Dark Meta Knight or Light Meta Knight. Light Meta Knight belongs to anyone who came up with the idea of him.

Onyx: Italicized words are translation of poyos, blah blah blah…

…

"_What are you doing out here, Meta_?" Kirby questioned as the two continued to follow Fumu. Meta Knight explained everything to the small puffball as he readjusted his mask so that it completely covered his face, and as they trudged past the forest surrounding the rocky ridges and cliffs.

"…And then I tracked her past Whispy Wood's forest, and, well, you know what happened next," the knight finished, just as they arrived at the foot of the tall cliffs that covered the base of the small mountain that Dynablade inhabited.

"…_huh. And I'm pretty sure I know whose causing the snow_."

Meta Knight chuckled. "It is pretty obvious. But I believe they meant no harm this time."

"_Yeah right_," Kirby rolled his eyes before pointing ahead to Fumu, who looked like she was going to faint any moment. "_Like that doesn't count as harm_."

Suddenly, the girl collapsed into the snow. Meta Knight glared at his sheepish student. "You just had to say something, didn't you?"

"_Sorry…_"

Sighing, the knight stalked over and gently turned her over. Her face was a light blue, her lips a darker shade from the cold. Her clothes and Kirby's blanket had a thick layer of frost on them, and snow covered everything. Meta Knight shook his wearily, before turning his bat wings into his usual flowing cape. Kirby was left with no protection against the howling winds and the biting snow, but he didn't complain. The knight dug out a blanket, much thicker than the one Fumu had, and tightly wrapped it around her. Picking her up, his bat wings once again appeared, and shielded the three of them as they continued their way up the craggy mountain.

….

Fumu was sunk in a strange world where there was nothing but black liquid surrounding her. It gently held her aloft, comforting and warm, the exact opposite of the cold white world that she had been in. Or had she? She didn't remember anything clearly anymore. Nor did she try. It was just too comfortable in this dark place….

…..

"Hey, bro! Take a look!"

"What?" a glowing white shape slipped over to where his brother was, peering impatiently out into the blizzard. "I swear, Dark, if this is another one of your jokes, I'll-"

A gasp cut off his words as the figure saw a hint of dark blue and pink through the thick snow.

"What in NOVA's name are they doing out here?"

"Hmmm, not sure. I thought I saw a hint of yellow too…"

"Idiot!" the white figure shoved his brother out of the cave they were hiding in. "Why didn't you go and get them in?"

"Alright, alright!" his brother carefully picked himself up from the snow, tattered gray cape flapping wildly in the gales. "Why don't you go get them?"

"Because the snow is white."

The darker figure rolled his blood-red eyes before stalking off. "Because the snow is white." He imitated using a high, mocking voice. "Honestly, he freaking _glows_, and all he says is '_Because the snow_-'" he spun around fast enough to catch the piece of rock thrown at him, but the second one found its mark right in between his eyes. Howling in rage, he was about to charge right back into the cave when a voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Daaku? Is that you?"

_**To be continued…**_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Kirby and co. do not belong to me. Light Meta Knight belongs to whoever came up with him.

Onyx: *coughFlamefox2cough*

Jade: Any italicized words are translations for poyos!

…..

"Daaku? Is that you?"

Taking a deep breath, Daaku, or rather, Dark Meta Knight turned around and raised a non-existent eyebrow at the blue knight holding the girl wrapped in a thick blanket, and the pink puffball clinging to him.

"Can you think of anyone else as awesome as me?" Dark grinned cheerfully. Meta Knight rolled his eyes, while Kirby had to bury his face into the knight's side to hide his giggles. Not that anybody can hear him anyway.

"Where are you staying?"

"Back there, in a cave. Why?" Dark pretended to be completely oblivious to the girl who was virtually as blue as Meta Knight from the freezing cold, the extra blanket having done little to warm her. Huffing in annoyance, the blue knight pushed past his counterpart to stalk into the warm, dry cave. Kirby, however, hung back for a moment, to gaze at Daaku. The demon part of Meta Knight stared back him with no expression, until Kirby's usually ocean-blue eyes changed into a rather melancholy gray, and his bright pink body gained a faint smoky tint.

"_Good to see you again, Daaku Meta_," Kirby smiled rather sadly, before hugging the dismal colored knight. "_Everybody misses you back home._"

The puffball then scampered into the cave, oblivious of Dark's surprised orange eyes staring after him. Shaking his head, the knight waltzed back into the cave. '_Seems like he's getting a little stronger_,' he mused quietly.

….

Inside the cave, the three had gotten a little more welcome reception. Fumu was laid down on a mat next to the fire burning merrily in the middle of the medium sized cave that had a passageway in the back. The two puffballs were both wrapped in thick blankets, the older one chatting with the white figure. Kirby appeared to be asleep beside Meta Knight, snuggled up to him with one of the knight's bat wings draped over him.

Daaku plopped down next to his brother, and tried to brush off as much snow as he could off his armor. The white figure paused momentarily in his conversation to yank off his brother's tattered gray cape to dry it next to the fire. Rolling his blood-red eyes, Dark stole a quick glance at Fumu to make sure she was still unconscious, before pulling off his mask to rub off any snow or frost that hadn't already melted in the heat of the fire.

Taking the hint, Meta Knight and the white figure both took off their masks, and the former also started to carefully brush off the crusted snow, while still chatting. Underneath their masks, all three of them looked pretty much identical; the only difference was their eye and skin color. Daaku also had a scar running vertically through his left eye, turning the bright red into a reddish pink color.

"…so that's the story," Meta Knight finished, and concentrated on polishing his mask. "Now, would you be so kind as to tell your's and Daaku's story, Awai?"

Awai, or rather, Light Meta Knight shrugged, but before he could reply, Dark cut in. "Well, there was this blue puffball that looked like a blueberry, and he-" the rest of his sentence was cut off by an "_oof_" as Light elbowed him harshly in the stomach. Grumbling, Daaku muttered, "We decided to pay a visit, and found the blizzard, so we took refuge in here."

Meta Knight raised a non-existent eyebrow. "First of all, I asked Awai, not you. Second of all, I find that rather hard to believe. The only time you two come popping out is when you have business to conduct. Not for a visit."

"Says you," Dark rolled his eyes, before pulling out his silver blade to polish it. Kirby chose that moment to wake up, and he gazed blearily at nothing for a while, before getting the mood of the three. Chuckling quietly to himself, he sat up and rubbed his eyes for a moment, and glanced over where Fumu was to check on her. The puffball's eyes widened.

"_Um, Meta_?"

"What is it?"

"_Fumu…she's gone._"

Meta Knight's head snapped around, and stared with bright orange eyes at Fumu's empty mat and rumpled blanket.

A sudden scream came from the small passage behind them.

…

Fumu couldn't believe it.

There was a humongous Ice Dragon sitting in this huge cavern, blowing icy wind into a crack that now was only a few yards away from its head. It had a large, thick metal collar around its neck, with a chain attached to it. The chain snaked its way down to the floor, and under a large boulder.

A part of her felt triumphant that she had proved Meta Knight wrong, but another part felt terror as her scream alerted the giant demon beast, and it stared at her, surprised that there was a little girl in its cave. Usually its two masters made sure nobody came into this cavern. But that didn't matter. It was time for a snack.

Fumu screamed again as the dragon spewed its frozen breath at her, missing her by inches as she threw herself to the side. Thankfully, the chain prevented the Ice Dragon from moving more than a few feet in either direction, meaning that it couldn't harm her physically, as long as she didn't get too close.

Suddenly, three razor sharp snowflakes flew out of the demon beast's mouth. They headed towards her from each side and the front, cutting off any escape. Fumu could only throw up her hands to try to shield herself, and scream.

But the pain she expected didn't come. She only heard a soft swish, and a couple of tinkles. Fumu nervously cracked open her eyes, then snapped them wide open in shock.

Meta Knight stood in front of her, facing outwards, holding his sword with both hands. To her left and right were what appeared to be two identical twins of Meta Knight holding the same pose as he, but with different color schemes. The one on the right was a dark gray copy with a tattered cape and scarlet feet; the one to the left was a glowing white, with golden feet. All three had the sliced remains of the snowflakes at their feet. Kirby was currently racing around the Ice Dragon, effectively both distracting it and infuriating it.

Sheathing his silver sword with much more force than necessary, the gray Meta Knight stormed up to Fumu and grabbed her by the neck of her outfit, dragging her closer to him than she would have liked. He forced her to stare straight into his wrathful and slightly insane looking, blood-red eyes.

"**What were you thinking, you insane idiot?**" he shrieked at her, completely enraged. "**You don't just go wandering off somewhere just because you felt like it! And you definitely don't go provoking a fully grown Ice Dragon! What are you, insane?**"

He then went on to call her every single swear world under the sun, including those in different languages, until the white copy of Meta Knight gently tugged Fumu away from him.

"Daaku, you do know that you're teaching her at least twenty new swears, right?" Awai rolled his eyes, holding the girl away from his raging brother. Daaku snarled angrily at him, before turning away. Taking a closer look at the two, Fumu had a sudden recollection of Meta Knight throwing two knights into a closet…

"You two!" Fumu abruptly burst out, causing the three Meta Knights to stare at her. "You two were that demon and ghost during Halloween!"

"…So you remembered us," Light Meta Knight stated flatly, before shaking his head wearily. "But let me get this straight. It was Dark's idea, not mine. And this idea is also his." He gestured towards the Ice Dragon.

"Blame everything on me, will you?" Daaku snarled, uncharacteristically surly, even for the moodily colored knight, who was currently sulking…

…upside down on the ceiling.

Fumu shook her head and rubbed her eyes, then looked again. Yep, still there. Dark Meta Knight was hunched over with his tattered cape wrapped tightly around his body. How he had gotten up there, and how he could hold on to the ceiling, Fumu had no idea. The other two Meta Knights didn't seem to be surprised though.

A panicked squeal from Kirby brought her attention back to the demon beast still in the cavern. She turned to the original Meta Knight. "We're going have to get rid of the Ice Dragon, right?"

The blue knight blinked and nodded. "Of course, but there's something I would like to ask you."

"What?"

"…Did you see me without my mask?"

Fumu raised an eyebrow. "Of course not." Fumu respected Meta Knight's privacy, so when she saw Meta Knight's mask on the ground, she simply didn't look that way.

The two Meta Knights still on the ground gazed at her for a long time, before they nodded.

A rather pained shriek snapped their heads around, just in time to see Kirby fall from the air and fall painfully in front of them. Apparently the poor puff had gotten too close to the Ice Dragon when he was attempting a quick kick, and it had used its tail to smack him. Grinning maliciously, the demon beast was about to open its mouth and freeze Kirby, but a snarl from above distracted it, and in the moment, two near identical blades pierced it. One through its eye and one through its stomach. A single sword beam sliced through it neatly, and it exploded.

"Poy…" Kirby got up slowly and painfully, then nearly fell back down again. Dark Meta Knight, who had landed behind the pink puff after he had tugged his sword free, gently pushed him back upright. Closing his eyes, Kirby sat down, taking a quick rest, while leaning slightly on Daaku.

Meanwhile, Fumu gazed silently at the hole in the ceiling, watching the thick gray clouds melt away, revealing the blue sky. Meta Knight gave everyone a quick check over, before slipping through the passageway to check on the fire.

Light Meta Knight gave Fumu a sideways look. "Seems like you've got your answer now, Fumu. Are you satisfied?"

"…I guess…"

"Good."

_**To be continued…**_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own Kirby and co. Light MK belongs to whoever came up with the idea.

…

Fumu gazed up at the night sky in disbelief.

It was New Year's, and she had stayed up late just to watch the fireworks, like everyone else. It had taken the children quite a few sugary treats to do it, but they had managed. But the bright explosions were now merely brief flashes of color that barely penetrated the thick clouds. And drifting down from the clouds were soft, cold crystals that were little more than flecks.

Snow. It was snowing.

Fumu was just about to explode when Kirby, now fully recovered, tugged on her arm. Struggling to dam her anger, she watched as Kirby quietly nodded towards a nearby tree. Squinting, Fumu could just make out a golden glow…

"Thanks, Kirby," she whispered quietly, already running towards the tree Meta Knight was hiding in. The knight jumped down just as she reached him.

"Meta Naito Kyou! Those two-!" Fumu began to sputter, but the knight held up a hand.

"I know, Fumu, but it's no use going to them again," he sighed. "NOVA knows they're harder to control than Kirby on a sugar high…"

Fumu raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly at the same time. "But still. We can't let them get away with this!"

"Fumu," Meta Knight sighed. "Just…let it go this time."

"Let it go?"

He nodded. "You always tell me to lighten up. Why don't you do too? Just…lay back and watch the snow. Greet the new year. Relax and simply enjoy yourself. Refresh yourself. And if you're worried about the fireworks, I'm sure Captain Waddle Doo would be able to have them visible very soon."

"…That seems weird coming from you," Fumu muttered, but the remark was almost drowned out by the roar of a rocket exploding into visible bright sparkles and the cheers of the Cappies.

"Perhaps. But isn't the new year about starting anew?"

Bun and Kirby raced over excitedly. "They're starting the countdown!"

"TEN!" As if on cue, all the Cappies abruptly shouted out the number.

"NINE!" Over at Castle Dedede, King Dedede and Escaragon both roared.

"EIGHT!" Sword and Blade shrieked as loud as they could, since Meta Knight wasn't there with them.

"SEVEN!" Captain Waddle Doo cried, along with the silent screams of over two thousand Waddle Dees.

"SIX!"Bun screamed, grinning.

"Five!" Fumu laughed.

"FOUR!" Kirby sang out happily.

"Three," a gray, transparent shadow standing just behind Kirby whispered happily, melancholy gray eyes shining.

"Two," two transparent shadows standing on either side of Meta Knight murmured softly, their blood-red and celestial amber eyes containing a very rare sparkle of content.

"One," Meta Knight smiled, his eyes a soft, happy blue.

"_**HAPPY NEW YEAR**_!"

_**END**_

Author's Notes: Happy New Year, everybody!


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